European Stock Markets Open Higher, Following Wall Street's Gains.

Wednesday's opening of European stock markets is higher thanks to the positive reaction on Wall Street overnight and the impending publication of inflation statistics from Germany and Spain.

Tuesday saw a significant increase in the Wall Street indexes, with Nasdaq leading the way with a 1.7% increase.

This came after statistics revealed that in July, the number of job opportunities in the United States fell to its lowest level in well over two years, fueling expectations that the Federal Reserve would soon stop raising interest rates.

Investors are analysing the incoming economic data for hints as to what the U.S. central bank will do next since the Fed is largely expected to hold steady next month. Therefore, the meetings in November and December are the ones that are producing anxiety.

Over in Europe, during the press conference that followed the ECB's most recent meeting, President Lagarde made a suggestion that the central bank will stop its rate-hiking cycle in September. This prediction was strengthened by a sharper-than-expected decline in eurozone business activity.

However, annual inflation in July was 5.3%, far higher than the medium-term target set by the European Central Bank of 2%, indicating that another 25bp increase is still expected before the end of the year.

Later this week, the eurozone CPI for August is scheduled to be released. It is anticipated to drop to 5.1%. However, there is room for improvement considering that the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia had its CPI climb 0.5% on the month and 5.9% on an annual basis.

Following industry data that indicated a significant drop in U.S. crude stocks, which increased worries about a storm in the Gulf of Mexico, oil prices increased on Wednesday, extending previous gains.

Late Tuesday, data from the American Petroleum Institute indicated that oil stockpiles had decreased by nearly 11 million barrels over the previous week, indicating solid demand in the lead-up to the Labour Day vacation, which is typically when demand peaks in the summer.

(Sources: investing.com, reuters.com)